Olympics bosses have withheld hundreds of tickets to the 2012 Games apparently meant for Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.

In a rare move, the International Olympics Committee blocked Libyan dignitaries from attending after Gaddafi’s eldest son Muhammad requested up to 1,000 tickets as head of his country’s Olympic committee.

Although the Government cannot vet which countries are granted tickets for the event, it is understood that David Cameron put pressure on the IOC through the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to avoid a diplomatic crisis.

Despite its political impartiality, the IOC admitted last night that the situation in Libya made it impossible to hand tickets to Gaddafi’s regime.

A spokesman said: ‘On Libya, to be absolutely clear, no tickets have been printed or paid for.

‘The IOC decided, along with LOCOG, that no tickets will be handed over to the Libyan national Olympic committee until the current situation becomes clearer.

‘Quite sensibly, we will retain this wait-and-see policy until we can be absolutely certain that the tickets can be used correctly.’

The Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted it was ‘a decision for the IOC, not for us’ which tickets were allocated to Libya.

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But he added: ‘The fact is that
Gaddafi, his family and key members of that regime are subject to a
travel ban and won’t be allowed to travel here to the Olympics in any
event.’

The Department of Culture, Media and
Sport said: ‘The Libyan organising committee has been allocated a few
hundred tickets which they are responsible for distributing to sports
organisations and athletes within their country.

‘Every international visitor is
subject to the UK’s immigration controls and will be refused entry if
they don’t meet the rules.’

According to the IOC, Libya is the
only country to have been refused tickets, raising the possibility that
other leaders guilty of human rights atrocities may still be free to
travel to London to watch the Games.

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It is understood that ministers have
already sought advice on how to prevent President Mugabe’s regime in
Zimbabwe obtaining tickets.

Although Mugabe is also subject to a travel
ban, Zimbabwe’s Olympic committee can still apply for tickets.

Another controversial figure who
could attend is General Lassana Palenfo, president of the Ivory Coast
Olympic committee.

According Danish press reports, he was responsible
for a ‘death squad’ in the West African country in the Nineties and was
jailed in 2000 when junta leader Robert Guei suspected him of being
behind an assassination plot.

It is also unclear whether Bahrain
will apply for tickets following an international outcry over alleged
human rights abuses following democracy protests.

As president of the Bahrain Olympics
committee, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa – son of the king of
Bahrain, would be eligible for tickets.

However, he might reconsider after
Britain condemned government forces for allegedly firing on and killing
dozens of peaceful pro-democracy campaigners.

In April, his brother Crown Prince
Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa was forced to decline an invitation to
attend Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton following weeks of
public criticism.